as in capabilities
the physical or mental power to do something
as a result of the accident the once-vigorous athlete lost the ability to walk
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Recent Examples of abilities
Both have calf muscle injuries—Neymar on his right Pulisic on his left—that are hindering their abilities to play in 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
—
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Australia tried to neutralize the Americans’ superior speed and technical abilities by getting physical, rough play that German referee Felix Zwayer largely allowed.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Although our modern fights are different, many of the same underlying issues remain — entrenched biases, efforts to limit women’s roles and rights, attacks on women’s autonomy, and attempts to raise doubts on women’s abilities, especially those of Black women.
—Jocelyn Frye, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 June 2026
This low position is likely hindered by a reliance on offensive statistics that puts less value on Brind’Amour’s defensive abilities.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 17 June 2026
Paediatric occupational therapists help children develop a range of physical and cognitive skills, including movement and coordination, fine motor abilities, and everyday tasks such as dressing and feeding themselves.
—Hannah Silverman, Parents, 17 June 2026
The limited abilities of the current single-lens camera have drawn the most customer complaints, according to the people.
—Mark Gurman, Fortune, 17 June 2026
Humanoid robots such as Pepper are designed to look and behave in ways that resemble humans, featuring recognizable traits such as heads, eyes, hands, facial expressions, and conversational abilities.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026
College athletics provides young people across America opportunities to strive for the highest levels of their abilities, compete to win while learning sportsmanship and, most importantly, discover how to grow and thrive as a team.
—Wendy R. Anderson, Washington Post, 11 June 2026
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Australia tried to neutralize the Americans’ superior speed and technical abilities by getting physical, rough play that German referee Felix Zwayer largely allowed.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
Although our modern fights are different, many of the same underlying issues remain — entrenched biases, efforts to limit women’s roles and rights, attacks on women’s autonomy, and attempts to raise doubts on women’s abilities, especially those of Black women.
—Jocelyn Frye, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 June 2026
This low position is likely hindered by a reliance on offensive statistics that puts less value on Brind’Amour’s defensive abilities.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 17 June 2026
Paediatric occupational therapists help children develop a range of physical and cognitive skills, including movement and coordination, fine motor abilities, and everyday tasks such as dressing and feeding themselves.
—Hannah Silverman, Parents, 17 June 2026
The limited abilities of the current single-lens camera have drawn the most customer complaints, according to the people.
—Mark Gurman, Fortune, 17 June 2026
Humanoid robots such as Pepper are designed to look and behave in ways that resemble humans, featuring recognizable traits such as heads, eyes, hands, facial expressions, and conversational abilities.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026
College athletics provides young people across America opportunities to strive for the highest levels of their abilities, compete to win while learning sportsmanship and, most importantly, discover how to grow and thrive as a team.
—Wendy R. Anderson, Washington Post, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abilities
Noun
-
This approach will enable capabilities far surpassing current models while consuming a mere fraction of the energy.—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
-
Dana-co plans to build on Lunya’s existing brand equity while bringing operational expertise, product development resources, wholesale relationships, planning discipline, and direct-consumer capabilities to support future growth.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
Poor sleep also undermines decision making and emotional regulation, two capacities that many successful professionals depend upon every day for work and which are also essential for wellness.—
Ezekiel J. Emanuel,
Fortune,
21 June 2026
-
Alzubi has worked in the district in various capacities, including chemistry teacher and assistant principal, since 2013.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
These healthy children were an argument for a midwife’s skills.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
-
ZipRecruiter’s Invite to Apply feature enables employers to contact prospects whose skills match an open role, including passive candidates who may not be actively searching for a new job.—
Audrey Payne,
CNBC,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Another piece surely is that the Duffers are taking their talents to Paramount.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
-
What gives me optimism is that so many people still want to direct their immense talents and energies toward research.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Your intuitive faculties are on point today as the sun coordinates with Neptune.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
24 May 2026
-
The researchers also announced a contest with a $200,000 prize pool on the popular machine learning competition site Kaggle for outside researchers to help build evaluations for the five cognitive faculties where existing benchmark tests are weakest.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For this class, the premise is that your purpose in life lies to the intersection of your values, your aptitudes and your interests.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
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This model reflects Japan’s long-standing corporate culture, which prioritizes new hires for their general potential—their aptitudes and aspirations, as opposed to their current skill sets or university majors—and then trains them on the job.—
GRACIA LIU-FARRER,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Those leading campus organizations are building competencies in communication, budgeting and conflict resolution.—
Dr. Milpha Blamo,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
This perspective informs Mentor126’s direction and involves the same three competencies any human mentor would use.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abilities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abilities. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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